The Numbers All Added Up
Published Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Pictured are Stephanie Lankinen with her husband Derek, and their children Atlas and Penelope.
Meet Stephanie Lankinen, Bookkeeper at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation
Stephanie Lankinen worked with numbers her whole career, starting in the hospitality industry. Most recently, she worked at a Thunder Bay institution: the Sleeping Giant Brewing Company. But when the company announced early this year that it was closing, Stephanie started looking for other opportunities.
“I have a friend, who used to work at the Health Sciences Foundation, and she had nothing but good things to say about the organization. So when the job posting came up, it was at the top of my list of places I wanted to work.”
Stephanie knew the Foundation through the Thunder Bay 50/50 Draw and of course her friend. But she had no idea of the impact the Foundation has on healthcare in Northwestern Ontario until she started working there.
“It's a great initiative, banding together donors from all over the region to help each other out. The Foundation makes such a difference for so many people,” she said. “One of the first tasks I did when I got here was a year-end spreadsheet of all the projects the Foundation funded at the Hospital. I don't think people are fully aware of the impact the Foundation has on us all – I certainly wasn't until I saw it firsthand.”
Stephanie added that most people have heard of the Thunder Bay 50/50 Draw, but probably not all the different ways donors help improve local healthcare. For example, maybe not as many know about the recent vision campaign that helped bring retinal detachment services to Thunder Bay.
“The Foundation inspired donors to fund the equipment Dr. Pisig needed,” she said. “Now, we have the tools to repair retinal tears here instead of sending patients to Winnipeg or Toronto.”
Not only is Stephanie proud to be part of that impact, the work environment is everything she expected, too.
“You're always nervous when you start a new job, and I haven't started a ‘new job' in a while! But everyone here was so welcoming. It's a really great team to work with.”
When Stephanie is not at work, she loves being home with her family: her husband Derek and their two kids along with three dogs and two cats – what she calls a “very busy, happy home”. She is also Finance Manager and co-owner of Nature's Nest Early Learning Centre. This fall, she is planning a trip with friends to visit Paris; Krakow, Poland; Rome; and Palermo, Italy.
“We're going to Palermo so that we can spend time on the beach – a vacation in the middle of our vacation,” she said.
After a busy first six months, she'll deserve it!